11 Freezer-friendly meals that make meal prep easier than ever
Something tells us you’re probably cooking a lot more in your kitchen, as you’re staying in. Which is great… until your inner chef decides to take a night off and you’re stuck deciding between a bowl of cereal for dinner or a third protein smoothie for the day (not the best!). No matter who you are, we all need a night off from cooking every now and again. And that’s why we are HUGE fans of freezer-friendly meals.
We think of freezer-friendly meals like gifts to our future tired selves, who can only manage to plop something in the oven and wait for it to heat up. On those days, frozen soup is exactly what we’re looking for!
But first things first, here are some general freezing tips:
- Generally, soups, casseroles, veggie burgers, bean dishes, sauces, and grainy snack foods are superstars in the freezer — we even prefer the leftovers sometimes.
- Most freezer-friendly meals can last up to an entire month if stored properly.
- Cool food before you store it
- Avoid freezing fried foods, raw potatoes, and other raw watery vegetables like cucumbers and lettuce
- Use wraps to seal food. We try to press the wrap on the food to avoid getting freezer burned leftovers
- Don’t forget about it! We like to use clear plastic-free containers as much as possible, so it gives us a visual reminder of what’s inside.
So, are you ready to up your meal-prep game and take full advantage of your freezer? Check out these 11 freezer-friendly meals!
11 Freezer-friendly meals that make meal prep easier than ever
1. Comforting Lentil Bolognese
Choosing Chia’s Comforting Lentil Bolognese is drool-worthy on spaghetti, loaded in tortillas, or served on top of rice. Sometimes, we’re even tempted to eat a bowl straight up!
2. Vegan Breakfast Burritos
Breakfast potatoes + scrambled tofu + tortillas = heavenly (and filling) breakfast burritos from Sweet Simple Vegan.
And somehow even after storing them in the freezer, they still taste just as good.
3. Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Ok, cookies for breakfast may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re definitely something we can get behind! These yummy cookies from Love & Lemons are made with flaxseed, oat flour, maple syrup, and blueberries (to name a few of the good-for you ingredients). We like to keep a stash in the freezer, so they’re easy to grab in a pinch!
And while the ingredients list is relatively long, the meal prep is only about 10 minutes!
4. 1-Pot Vegan Lentil Soup
This vegan lentil soup from Vegan Richa is not only loaded with protein and nutrients, but it also requires only about 10 minutes of prep. And it freezes awesomely, but we do recommend putting a wrap (like Etee food wraps) on the top of your storage to prevent soup freezer burn.
P.S. If you love this soup, we think you’ll also love her Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joe’s!
5. Vegan Chana Masala
This hearty Vegan Chana Masala is LOADED with flavor and protein. You’ll fill up on good-for-you ingredients and feel good doing it!
6. Easy Vegan Falafel
Falafel is high in fiber, healthy fats, and protein, which makes them a great go-to meal for plant-based eaters. We’re big fans of this recipe from Minimalist Baker. And if you’re not sure what to do once you have the falafel, they’re yummy in a pita with other veggies or topped in grain bowls. Oh, and like most of the other recipes, they’ll last about a month in your freezer!
7. The Ultimate Veggie Burger
So many of our favorite ingredients come together to make this Ultimate Veggie Burger recipe. Between the garlic and chickpeas, parsley and breadcrumbs — we truly can’t get enough of these burgers!
And since they’re freezer-friendly, you can get creative and use them in different types of meals (bowls, salads, pasta dishes, etc). But we do recommend cooking them first, cooling, and then freezing.
8. Vegan Enchilada Casserole
Anything involving enchiladas gets us curious! But what makes this recipe from Detoxinista so awesome is that it holds up really well in the freezer for weeks. We stored our’s in a glass dish with a reusable food wrap on top to avoid freezer burn… and it worked perfectly!
9. Vegan Vodka Pasta
Pinch of Yum’s recipe for Vegan Vodka Pasta makes our mouths water just reading the ingredients. And while freezing the noodles isn’t necessarily the best idea (we wouldn’t do it), we’ve been known to make double the sauce and freeze half — so that way, we’re good to go for our next pasta night.
10. Tahini Cookie Dough Fudge
Yes, this is a dessert (which in our books counts as a mini meal!) but we couldn’t resist sharing Ambitious Kitchen’s fudge recipe.
It has so many of our favorite treat ingredients: vanilla extract, tahini, dark chocolate chips, maple syrup, oh and did we mention tahini? 😉After you whip it up, just plop it in the freezer and it’ll be ready the next time your sweet tooth calls!
11. Vegan Sweet Potato Soup
Thick, creamy, veggie-filled soup coming your way! This recipe from Loving it Vegan is made with sweet potatoes, onions, olive oil, and almond butter (yes, you read that right, almond butter really adds a lovely roasted flavor to the yumminess).
And, of course, it’s perfectly freezer-friendly, so you don’t have to force yourself to eat soup four days in row to make use of the leftovers!
Want more meal prep inspiration? We’ve got you!
